More Wilmington Mayor Debates
There are two more debates and then I think that we’re done with debates before the primary. I think that the candidates are tired of this process, but so farr, all of the debates have been really well attended — a good indicator of the level of interest in this election. So the next two:
8th District Community Associations (sponsors)
Delaware Art Museum
7pm
TODAY — 8/20/12
DuPont Environmental Education Center/Delaware Nature Society (sponsors)
DuPont Environmental Education Center
6:30pm
TOMORROW — 8/21/12
ALSO — if you missed any of the showings of the WHYY debate, you can see it online at the Newsworks site.
AND — last night there was a debate broadcast on Channel 28, Norman Oliver’s show. This one was apparently a slugfest. I haven’t seen it, but it should be posted online shortly I hear.
So have you seen either of the latest debates? Tell us what you thought of these.
Tags: Mayor Race
Williams is running a pretty confident campaign with his public safety endorsements and strong volunteer effort. News Journal profile this morning was a boost. Kelley is trying to position himself as an experienced alternative to Williams, with an outreach to neighborhoods and grass roots campaign effort. Scott Spencer actually has some decent ideas and is right on calling for more transparency with city bidding and contracts (e.g. Honeywell 20 year deal). Bovell is in over his head and has little to say. And lastly, Bill Montgomery has done his best, but just looks like a beaten candidate. He has lost a lot of steam after his call for a 15% Property tax increase next year. Bill seems frustrated, and a little cranky with all the candidates criticizing the Baker-Montgomery record. Sadly, its the ultimate albatross around his neck and can’t distance himself from it…..Should be an interesting final few weeks.
“Pretty confident” = blowing off voters, skipping joint appearances, slamming down phone on reporters, not paying taxes until he’s caught.
In short, Wms behaves like a lout who once wore a blue uniform – the worst kind.
Frank Rizzo without the personality – but with the brutality.
I think 18 debates has been enough. Last nights was pretty much a waste of time. I think JJ summed it up pretty well. Can’t wait till this is over so we can get to work on our plans or scrap them. It will be a shame if the next mayor does not see the vision that comes from the communities. A lot of hard work has gone into plans in most the communities.
Yes, 18 debates are probably more than enough, but it’s also part of the campaign that the candidates signed on to participate in. There are a lot of wars that wouldn’t have been won if the troops had decided to go home after 17 battles.
Will, I understand your support of Dennis P. After all, your boss was his close friend on the WPD. But I’m starting to believe that his single-minded plan to transform the city into a police state will help convince suburbanites that the Market Street that you have worked so diligently to revitalize really isn’t such a safe place to be.
And, through his absence from the debate on Monday night, Dennis P. demonstrated how it is possible to be arrogant and boorish without even showing up. Baker with a badge?
If I lived in the 8th District I would give great consideration to a candidate who’s #1 platform was crime, The city is #3 in the country for violent crimes, Its only a matter of time before it spreads to other communities truth be told the 7th is not what it used to be. Dennis has much more to offer but public safety has to be number one, without it this city cannot and will not grow!
Yes, my boss was Dennis’ partner on WPD where they broke the back of the gang in north Wilmington. I met Dennis through Marty, but Marty worries more about losing me than trying to influence. I like Dennis very much, he is a solid person. Unfortunately, in public speaking he has not come across with his true personality & many things have been taken out of context. He definitely is not single minded & has a lot of really smart people, especially in economic development around him. It’s hard to impress me, I decided if we are to continue the momentum of revitalization Dennis was the person I could best work with. I have tried to work with Bill for 11 years & it is not possible to continue. Kelley is a good person, but he also has held back my work & others. He just doesn’t get it. Dennis does, so he doesn’t express that very well speaking to a large audience, I can get past that. His policies are sound, they are comprehensive & yes crime is #1 & it will not be tolerated. Just the perception of crime alone has held back everything I have tried to accomplish. Give me a safe City & I guarantee we can make Downtown a real destination. And it doesn’t stop there. Working with each community to enable the plans they all have worked so hard on while the current admin. has either gotten in the way or behind the scenes tried to crush. WOW, that would be awesome!
If I lived in the 8th District, I wouldn’t vote for someone who didn’t respect me enough to show up to speak to my community. Don’t we have this now? Sheesh.
And people in the city should take a good look at the Williams crime plan too. It largely consists of initiatives that the WPD is already doing, so there’s more of the same there too.
Sad when the empty chair gets all the attention, Truth is last night without Dennis they where all empty seats!
Sad when the empty chair brought this attention on himself — by running away from a perfectly good group of Wilmington citizens.
As soon as people start talking “economic development” as a big issue for choosing a mayor, I run the other way. One person’s economic development is the next person’s crony capitalism.
Not showing up while simultaneously hosting your own rally? Stupid and arrogant behavior. If good people are advising Williams, why didn’t someone point out that missing this debate was a bad idea? That another night for a rally might have been a better choice? I agree that 18 is a lot of debates – I also agree that this is what everyone signed up for. And each one has targeted a different area of the city which is great, as it gives the neighborhoods we hear so much about an opportunity to participate in their own backyards. To not show up sends a clear message that one doesn’t care about those constituents. And again from a candidate who continually touts the current administration as full of arrogance, it is the worst kind of irony. If you don’t care enough about a set of people to give them a few hours of your time at an event designed for you to speak your message, how are you going to save a city you claim is on the brink?
So far as crime and attracting people downtown to Market Street as is often brought up here–every time I go to Market Street I see a lot of people. I would love to see more and have heard little beyond the popular “stop the crime!” slogan as to how any candidate if going to make that happen. Last night I was happy to see Chelsea 3/4 full with bar and dinner patrons at 8pm on a Monday night–couples, families, singles–and nothing going on across the street to support that either. I don’t run a downtown business so I can’t speak to anyone’s troubles in the past as someone who does, obviously. But it seems that anyone who is perpetuating the idea that crime is SO BAD and the city is SO SCARY that we need a HERO WHO KNOWS ABOUT THUGS to save us all from destruction, especially on Market Street, that is part of the problem. One man (it’s always a man) isn’t going to save everything. The next mayor needs a clear plan of action and the people to support that plan, city-wide, all walks of life, to make anything work.
An overarching theme in these debates is about how terrible crime is in Wilmington in general, particularly violent crime (not hearing a lot about petty crime in neighborhoods which is also demoralizing for everyone and part of the larger problem.) And it is terrible if this or that neighborhood has a reputation of being like Beirut as Williams claimed last night at his rally. But that is not the entire city, it isn’t even close–but the message I hear over and over is that this city is unsafe no matter where or when you go.
No one is arguing that violent crime is not a huge issue that needs to be addressed by each candidate, and hopefully solved by the next administration. But it’s pitiful the way the City is being portrayed by most of the candidates. I am so sick of hearing about how awful it is here, with no regard for all the good that does exist in the neighborhoods, in the social scene, in some of our schools. Great people live, work, and play here. They need to be addressed as well. The city is thriving in many ways despite the wave of violent crime we are all dealing with, but half these guys insist that until this wave is dammed up nothing good will continue to happen here. It’s a disgrace.
Well said, Kiki. Amen.
My family member has a business in Trolley Square and there was a break in last night…& another friend who lives by Art Museum had his car ransacked at 3 am in the morning last week and had cops waking him and his kids up,….so don’t be fooled or complacent that most of the good areas in the city are safe. Its not fearmongering, its reality….escalating crime creeps and doesn’t stop at neighborhood lines. Its high time to get tough on crime. if Rudy Guilaini could clean up Manhattan, a small city can do it too.
Last night I was happy to see Chelsea 3/4 full with bar and dinner patrons at 8pm on a Monday night
Just want to point out that this was also a Monday night in August — when Wilmington supposedly shuts down.
I agree with alot that you say Kiki, but what is unfortunate about much of the debate about public safety is that it is reactive to a genuinely high violent crime rate (in a city too small for this kind of thing) and to perceptions of a violent city as portrayed by our “local media” — none (or very few) of which live here or are connected with reality on the ground. There is an argument (one not made by the rally) that this *is* a great city (and it is) and its high rate of violent crime gives some folks pause about being in the city. And this is true — whether it is to locate a business in town or if it is to venture to the Grand or the Queen — there are people who could be customers of these places who won’t make the effort because they think this is a scary place. Some of those people are friends, colleagues, family of mine who really resist coming into town. And these are people who will go off to Baltimore, Philly, NYC at the drop of a hat and don’t give a second thought about their safety in these places.
The thing that Wilmington lacks that these cities have is leadership that gives a damn about whether its citizens are safe. Apparently we have folks who are expecting that crime will go to zero, which is completely unrealistic. There is and always will be crime and how an administration approaches crime is the difference between whether people feel safe or not. The difference between Mayor Nutter and Mayor Baker is that one is up front and vocal about caring if the people in his city are safe. The difference between these two administrations is also found in policing attitude — one has a Chief who is out front, visible and ready to be accountable even when crime spikes.
Wilmington is not nearly as bad as its detractors would have it. But there are places in the city that are truly under seige. In spite of that, there are places here that are thriving, as you say, and there are more that can with a little but of innovative TLC. And if you can replace the urban hellhole narrative with one that highlights the thriving, creative, place to be narrative.
Brava, Kiki!
I agree Cassandra – great points.
Great points by all, except for those that post irrational & just plain mean comments. For me the bottom line is: Who can I personally work with to move our City past the problems that plaque us & into a prosperous future where quality of life is not a dream. If you know me, you know I have more than paid my dues. I even bought the building where Denise Rudy was killed with the hopes to revitalize 9th Street. I go to work everyday with dedication & with frustration because it is so hard to get those who are paid to manage this City to work with me instead of against me. Cassandra, you know exactly what I am talking about. I know each of the candidates, I have analyzed each with respect to our mission to revitalize the City. Two I have fought against, one I have scars in my back to prove it. Robert & Scott are very good people who I respect, but I don’t see as qualified. Kevin is dedicated & loves the communities, but I cannot get a word in edgewise & he seems one dimensional. Bill, I will not work with, will never trust & will leave the City if elected. Dennis, who comes across tough & to many arrogant, I have chosen as the person I can work with. I have met his core advisers, I am talking at length with his economic development director & I am confident that with Dennis we will revitalize Wilmington. You all make some very good points & those of you I know personally, I truly like & respect. You love the City & want to make it a place to call home. I truly hope Dennis wins & we can come back together & get working. Cassandra, I really, really want to get working on the plan we started. We desperately need it, but I can’t keep the momentum that we have going on Downtown if I don’t have an administration or departments I can work with. There are great people who work for the City, however the spirit has been broken in many. Especially at WPD & even with just the perception by outsiders & workers who travel into the City that the City is not safe we cannot succeed. There is a lot to do, there are a lot of problems & I firmly believe opportunity outweighs the negative. Together we can make a difference.
Can anyone confirm that Kevin Kelley ‘left on vacation’ with only a few weeks left in the Mayor’s race? That’s the word from tonight’s event at Riverfront.
To Will: All I want to say is this. What you see in Dennis Williams isn’t what he’s showing anyone else. He talks tough on crime, but that’s about it. In the last couple of debates he’s been the only one who has lashed out or had harsh things to say about the other candidates. And now I’ve learned (and please correct me if I’m wrong), that he’s not planning on attending anymore debates. Which just tells me he has no intention of actually getting to know the people who live in this town or really cares about its people.
– Choosing to not debate (or skipping a key one to hold a rally) could only mean because he doesn’t feel like he comes across well during them. But not attending them makes him look worse.
– You claim that he doesn’t present himself well, or doesn’t use technology well, but also claim that he’s surrounded himself with smart people. If this is the case, then he is getting a LOT of bad advice from these smart people. His campaign is doing the opposite of everything it should be doing if he actually wants to be elected. When you have people who really want to know the REAL Dennis Williams, you don’t pull him out of debates.
Will, I can only hope that when Dennis loses the primary that you will fight just as hard for the actual nominee, and be as willing to support the next administration with this amount of fervor.
Thanks Joe,
At the debate at DE Art Museum I sat in the front row with John Porter a dedicated Wilmington Firefighter & we were both amazed to see Dennis’ name, a microphone & chair set up when he told them 3 weeks ago he could not attend. I was also disgusted to hear Bill M in his opening remarks & his summation say damning things about Dennis. Even about the money the state gives to Wilmington. Dennis will not do anymore debates & during each one he is out on the streets talking directly to the people. You make some very good observations & this has not been the best run campaign, but if I was consulting on the others I would find serious problems there as well. All I can do is vouch for the man himself & those I know who will be part of his admin. who I have great confidence in (I will not be in Dennis’ admin). Dennis also has support from all major state legislator’s which will be critical moving forward. The biggest problem Dover’s lack of confidence in the current admin. For me, it will depend on who is elected, I have stated I will not work with Bill. The others while I lack confidence I would try, but if we cannot move forward comprehensively I cannot waste the second half of my life. We could have accomplished so much more over the last 11 years. I have experienced too much waste of opportunity. I’m on the In advisory committee & I really want you & all the other artists to be successful, but though Downtown is in reality safer than Christiana Mall we have never been able to get solid footing because of the crime in our surrounding neighborhood’s. This has to stop & I feel so bad for the good people who live in fear there. Why when we have been pleading for a no tolerance policy do we try to take down the only candidate qualified to tackle crime? I’ll never write a tell all book, but if people knew what I knew about the inner workings of the past two admins. they would think different. And not to even mention the so called revitalization non-plans. We are finally making strides.
I ask you all to consider this as you make judgement. We have asked for years that there be a zero tolrence on crime & I believe the time has come. I’m not talking about a police state or any violation of civil rights, however criminals have no right to harm another person & should be the only one’s afraid of a tough stance on crime. This approach must be complimented by true community police interaction & I believe that can be achieved.
http://www.parenting.com/gallery/most-dangerous-cities-in-america-2012?cid=searchresult
What does “zero tolrence on crime” even mean?
Zero tolerance means that mom gives her 6-year-old a cake knife to take to school to cut her birthday cake, the kid gets suspended, no questions asked.
Following that premise on crime means we go back to the Tom Sharp glory days of mandatory minimums — lock ’em up for as long as you can and be ready to lock ’em up again as soon as they look at someone sideways after they get out.
All it does is raise our prison costs.
Now, I hope that what Will really means by “zero tolerance” is that the folks who see crimes committed, or hear about them, decide that they will no longer keep silent, but they will now start calling the police and turning in the thugs who are ruining their communities.
If that’s what he’s hoping for, all I can say is “good luck.” I’ve been hearing that line for years … and still haven’t seen any evidence that people are diming out neighborhood criminals.
So, “zero tolerance” means either lock ’em up and throw away the key, which has few positive outcomes, or it means report everything you see to the police, a tactic that has been urged for years with no significant results.
I’m not telling you that I’ve got a solution … just sayin’ that “zero tolerance,” whatever that means, isn’t the answer.
Below is what Wikipedia has & to be honest with you I don’t know enough about crime prevention. All I am saying is “This has to stop” & whether it is by arrest, prevention, health & human services, early childhood education, I don’t know. Someone has to take charge & what is being done now – Is Not Working!
Zero toleranceFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search
This article is about the general type of punishment policy. For other uses, see Zero tolerance (disambiguation).
Criminology and Penology
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Zero tolerance imposes automatic punishment for infractions of a stated rule, with the intention of eliminating undesirable conduct.[1][2] Zero-tolerance policies forbid persons in positions of authority from exercising discretion or changing punishments to fit the circumstances subjectively; they are required to impose a pre-determined punishment regardless of individual culpability, extenuating circumstances, or history. This pre-determined punishment need not be severe, but it is always meted out.
Zero-tolerance policies are studied in criminology and are common in formal and informal policing systems around the world. The policies also appear in informal situations where there may be sexual harassment or Internet misuse in educational and workplace environments.
Little evidence supports the claimed effectiveness of zero-tolerance policies.[3] One underlying problem is that there are a great many reasons why people hesitate to intervene, or to report behavior they find to be unacceptable or unlawful. Zero-tolerance policies address, at best, only a few of these reasons.[
Zero tolerance rules are a way for the lazy to pretend they are attacking a problem. There are complex problems in the world but, it is easier to claim to take a hard line rather than solve the problem. On a par with this are drug laws with mandatory sentencing or dealing within certain distance from a school. The latter falls heavier on urban populations because of population density and does nothing to curtail drug use among the young.
We could build a big fence around the state. Then, as people committed crimes, we escort them to the other side of the fence.
Think how many nice bankers’ houses would be made available for ‘pro-social’ uses.
It would be AWESOME.
“Zero tolerance is an excuse to shelve judgment and hide behind a rule book. It’s cowardly. The only organization properly managed on a zero tolerance basis has no actual people in it.”
http://www.samefacts.com/2009/03/law-notes/zero-tolerance-and-sanity/
@Tom McKenney, heragain & John Manifold–
Did any of you read Will Minster’s comment @ 3:22pm? Please do & pay attention to Will’s first paragraph and the final paragraph from his Wikipedia copy & paste.
I’m not a DPW supporter & I don’t live in Wilmo, but Will is one of the “good guys” who actually wants to improve the city AND IS TRYING TO GET SHIT DONE.
A lot of good guys (and girls) want to improve the city and are doing so every day. Will is not alone or even part of a small crowd in what he would like to see for Wilmington under the help of the next administration. And if the person I vote for is not the person that gets elected, I plan to be just as supportive as can be when it comes to implementing all these grand plans the new mayor wishes to roll out.
However, ” Zero tolerance ” is a buzzword, by definition, and not any kind of plan. The social and economic factors that go into any criminal activity are never addressed by sending more people to prison. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t change anything. It only costs money and perpetuate continued and escalated violence and war zone-style day-to-day living for offenders’ families, friends, and neighbors. Federal prisons can be a wake-up call for some of the worst offenders; but local jails not so much.
I also don’t think most people, including the candidates and the current mayor, wish to “hug a thug” so why this is also a DPW buzzword designed to make voters feel he will make the city safe in ways no one else in the world ever could is beyond me. We are all angry. We all want perceptions changed, we all want less crime in our city. Throwing meaningless phrases at the problem isn’t going to do it. At least notions of community policing, as a few other candidates espouse, have some basis in actuality but they still don’t seem to take into account the reality of the situation from any end, from the criminal to the cops to the community to the cost. It’s a less than sustainable model at this point in some places, because offenders don’t care any more for a police officer than for a rival gang member.
It’s so frustrating to all agree that whatever is being done now to address the most violent crimes here isn’t working–but possibly more frustrating to think yelling “zero tolerance” and defining that as you go will.
Kiki-
Did you read the first and last paragraph’s of Minster’s 3:22pm post?
Zero Tolerance doesn’t work well in any situation–it simply absolves those in authority from any kind of responsibility.
I spoke to Will very briefly today on an unrelated matter. I’ve spoken to him several times in the past–he doesn’t come off as a “yeller” and it doesn’t seem to me that he’s sold on “zero tolerance” as we know it. “Broken Windows” would prob. be a better description, and I totally agree w/ him on that. The problem I have w/ DPW is that he wants to be Rudy Juliani. He’s a prick & he likes knocking heads. That attitude just won’t work in the long term
We all (I think) want Wilmington to be a successful, safe, vibrant city. I don’t think DPW can make that happen, but that doesn’t mean Will Minster is wrong.
Roland yes I did read Will’s post. I am sorry I wasn’t more clear, I was referring to DPW loudly touting “zero tolerance,” not Will. Will feels confident in his candidate and that’s great that he can and does express that here. But a major part of his candidate’s platform is this catchphrase “zero tolerance” as the cornerstone of his proposed war on crime, so if Will isn’t sure of what that truly means, he shouldn’t be saying that is what he and many city dwellers wants per his post at 2:20pm.
Again to be very clear I am not attacking Will at all. I am just curious as to why DPW keeps shouting “zero tolerance” from the rooftops–and that his supporters claim that is a good idea and something they have wanted for a long time when they may not understand the definition or the practice and its results.
I get that one hopes that the candidate he or she backs has good people in place to implement the proposed programs a candidate runs on, and as lay people we can’t all know every facet of every issue (i.e. the ins and outs of crime prevention tactics etc.) But consistently DPW has been very clear that “zero tolerance” is his thing so if you don’t know what that means in general or specifically to a DPW administration, how can you be so confident that this is the guy for the job? And if it’s an issue of semantics, aka another instance where DPW comes off one way but in reality if the total opposite, then DPW should stop using that phrase as a major tenet of his campaign.
@Kiki–
Again, I’m not a DPW supporter. Will is. He’s free to support the candidate he likes the most. My main point was that Will is not the enemy here.
No one is treating Will as the enemy here — but there is a pretty vigorous critique of “zero tolerance”. As there should be — the WPD is never going to have enough members to ever completely deliver on that. Besides (and I am trying to get these stats now) the WPD is remarkably effective in arresting people. Lots of people. But plenty of those people get back out on the streets for reasons that don’t have much to do with the WPD — because it isn’t the police doing the prosecution decisions.
Good, glad that is settled… Now… as you Will….
Dennis got an endorsement from Delaware Politics.
DP endorsed Christine O’Donnell at one time too. Good judgement is not thick on the ground over there.
No one is treating Will as the enemy here — but there is a pretty vigorous critique of “zero tolerance”. As there should be — the WPD is never going to have enough members to ever completely deliver on that.
I agree w/ the “vigorous critique” of “zero tolerance”. I’m just surprised that it continued after Minster refined & made clear his position on it.
I disagree w/ DPW. He doesn’t necessarily need to “hug” thugs, but he should talk, and more importantly, LISTEN to them.
I’m friendly w/ one of the neighborhood crack dealers. I don’t smoke crack, but he & I are roughly the same age & we’re both parents. I’m white, he’s black. I was raised in the suburbs, he’s a city kid through & through. We still have a lot in common. DPW could learn a LOT from this man, but he won’t if elected. He’ll simply do his best to imprison him for the rest of his life. We all lose when that happens.
Dennis P. would be the George W. of Wilmington – with a healthy dose of Pottersville grifting.
My two cents:
I caught wind of the fact that the Castro Firm, whose ex-landlord is my ex-employer, was promoting Mr. Williams a few months ago. As a latino on paper, and as someone who knows about how the DNC is leveraging Latino voters (particularly in the national presidential race via the Dream Act and through grassroots voter registration drives) vis a vis a campaign I was working on in Maryland, I know that the latino vote is the crux to any democratic campaign this year.
Hence Raul Castro (Cuban) is going to be the keynote as the San Antonio mayor at the DNC. Hence Ted Cruz winning the biggest seat in Texas (Cuban). I still think Rubio chose not to be the VP because he didn’t want to be involved in a losing effort and that he would be a McCain/Pawlenty type of GOP moderate (cough, Castle) going forward since this election is a disaster so far for the GOP.
All that being said, I think the reason people don’t trust Dennis Williams is that he is a minority. Since he is a minority, he’s like the “the blacks”, and no one really trusts “the blacks” (much less the latinos) in Wilmington, do they?
Why not? Because black on black violence in Wilmington has been going on for 50 years. Its the most dangerous city in the country to raise a child according to “Parenting” magazine today. People like that poor woman on Orange St. a few years ago are shot blindly. When that happens, or Mrs. Lee in North Wilmington gets killed by a crazed PSTD army vet (black again), people get nervous. So how do you solve the problem?
You find a minority person, like Mr. Williams, who is not scared of minorities. He is the type of guy who is willing to go to 5th and Monroe and give a speech because, whether you like it or not, the people who live down at 5th and Monroe not only do not trust rich white people, but they don’t trust cops or each other at this point. Its a community of distrust after being ignored for 50 years and having guys like Baker become horribly corrupted by the Dem Machine (Markell, Denn, Beau Biden, Szcerba, Baker, and other nanny-state, “I’m sure glad I don’t have to go into those neighborhoods!” ‘leaders’)
I really, really want to see Bill Montgomery go to Adams Four and “Rally People for Hope”. Because I know, and you know, whether you have white guilt or are an “insulated minority”, everyone but Williams is scared to actually do that. And that’s why I hope he wins.
Did I say not “legitimate”? the “neighborhood crack dealer” BS is total crap. If a guy is selling crack for a living then the Gander Hilton is the place for him . It is possible to have empathy without caving to the very thing that is destroying the city. Le Bay you are either making this stuff up or you are an idiot , probably both
I disagree w/ DPW. He doesn’t necessarily need to “hug” thugs, but he should talk, and more importantly, LISTEN to them.
This “hugging thugs” BS is meant to belittle the Safe Communities thing that Bill M is talking about. That strategy is basically a replica of the High Point Strategy, which doesn’t hug anybody. It makes cases against dealers in known markets and presents them with a choice — help up and out or help to jail. It recruits the dealer’s family and community in saying enough is enough — which is what everyone says they want, right? It has some success — in clearing out open air markets and some (definitely not 100%)with the dealers. Don’t really know where this process is in Wilmington yet. But they’ve done two “sessions” with some folks coming out of Federal prison and with some other locals. Not clear if this was aimed at a specific drug market.
It is an intriguing idea — because it is aimed at a bunch of those things that people say they want. Including a criminal stopping the crime and choosing a path to a more legitimate living and getting the community and family to step up for some tough love. I scratch my head over the preacher’s group that endorsed DPW — you’d think that *they* would be all over this kind of thing, rather than the out thugging the thugs strategy currently offered by DPW.
Safe Communities is not a substitute for traditional policing, though. And here in DE, I think that the weakest link is going to be the services extended to the folks being asked to stand down.
@ Alex–
Adams Four is totally safe for a person of ANY race during daylight hours.
Williams is the candidate supported by the police. That alone will hurt him w/ a large segment of black voters, many of whom are by experience distrustful of police.
Please come see me tomorrow, JPCJr. This is not a threat in any way. I just want to try to understand the morass that is your thought process.
You might even see the guy I’m talking about if you show up at the right time.
Really ,morass you insult a whole class of citizens, the developmentally disabled, you suggest I should not whine when you engage in this idiocy. You wouldn’t know a real drug dealer if he smacked you in the ass. This is not a response to a threat but I ‘d rather get a root canal tomorrow than hang with you. Sir you are the definition of idiot. ps: Adams 4 is unsafe 24/7 straight up.
A chicken in every pot or a cop on every stoop….Let us begin w/ the chicken.
@roland I know…..and I agree with you about Adams Four. Most of the shootings are at night, which is when communities should be policing themselves with cooperation with WPD and whoever else. The truth of the matter is that the black community in those areas isn’t likely to vote anyway because they don’t care about themselves or else they wouldn’t be shooting people or selling crack.
@cassandra_m So you are a Bill M supporter. I get that, its not your problem. The thing that you don’t understand is that the most important component of all this is cooperation from probation and parole officers (and the bail bondsmen), who are the ones that ultimately decide the fate of the dealers/users/bad people. The DAs and judges just defer to that office and its the trump card and ultimate leverage that the state of DE has over criminals who are trying to avoid recidivism. Not to mention the fact that probation and parole has broad financial (I don’t know what the fees are but, given the economic condition of the local area of Wilmington, probably too much) and restrictive probation and parole conditions, it feeds the third party companies that run the criminal justice system in Delaware. You know why Cassandra Arnold (the lady taken hostage in a Delaware prison and raped)got money for negligence? FEDERAL COURT. You know where the parents of Earl Bradley’s victims aren’t going to get money? DELAWARE STATE COURTS.
“Earlier, state police confiscated the contents of Bradley’s storage locker in Rehoboth Beach and destroyed them; the items were to be auctioned off to satisfy unpaid rent, but Biden intervened on behalf of the victims to buy them for a symbolic $1 so as not to take the chance of them ever being used again.”
Seriously? No money for their parents?
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110126/NEWS01/101260334/Medical-group-dismissed-from-Earl-B-Bradley-suit
Above is how the clean up was done by pro-business lawyers in Delaware. Bankruptcy. $1. No liability shared to the med mal insurance companies (I’m guessing), other previous practice partners, etc. No fund. Nothing. That’s how it works.
Unless the Fed steps in somehow, its just going to be more of the same (black people essentially controlled financially, physically, and often with addictions going right back through the door created by the State of Delaware on a daily basis due to the obvious private sector pandering for state contracts Markell, Beau, etc. either encourage or don’t actively try to stop)
If you want to stop crime in Wilmington, and make sure that lawyers, politicians, and kids aren’t killed, listen to people who have gone through the system one way or another.
Or, have every crime committed by the sons and daughters of rich, drug involved, suburban kids unsealed and released by the general public and see what kind of a sick hypocritical stuff actually occurs in NCCO within the family of powerful families in Delaware. Because I could personally write a 500 page book about that myself, and not about just me, but about the kids I grew up with, who went to Sallies, Concord, UD, etc. All kinds of nastiness, but that would mess up the “Delaware Way of Life”, right?
We can tell hes winning when the haters refer to him as DPW , I would never refer to your guy as BM
Since I already shortened Bill Montgomery’s name to Bill M, you don’t have much of a case here. Seriously — out of all of the issues people are talking about here, the ONLY thing you can critique is that people here use Dennis’ own personal initials as shorthand to refer to him by. Sheesh.
@Alex:
So you are a Bill M supporter. I get that, its not your problem.
This is incorrect. But you are new here so this time you get a pass for just making stuff up when you should have had the grace to ask me the question. Creating the strawman you want to argue against is the easiest way to get your butt handed to you here. Fair warning.
The thing that you don’t understand is that the most important component of all this is cooperation from probation and parole officers (and the bail bondsmen), who are the ones that ultimately decide the fate of the dealers/users/bad people.
I understand more of this than you think, good buddy. And the most important part of this once the arrest is made is the DA who probably is facing a stack of cases as tall as he or she is and who decide who gets to plead out vs who goes to trial. And unfortunately, plenty of good arrests are undermined by the fact that witnesses are unreliable. But then again, this has little to do with the High Point strategy that I was discussing and neither does Bradley or whether or not people get money from the courts.
And one more thing — I live in the Quaker Hill part of WCC. I go to Adams 4 regularly and it seems pretty safe to me. Where I *won’t* go to is the McDonald’s which has had more issues than you know.
Thank you all for the respect you have given me here, I don’t have thick skin which is why I would never run for office. You are so right, there are a lot of people just like me & they all need to be applauded for their efforts. There have equally been as many people who have tried in the past & gave up because they couldn’t get anything accomplished. Many of those people were criticized & even publicly defamed because their ideas & vision seemed irrational to those that could speak louder.
I should have never used Zero Tolerance; I didn’t know there was an actual method to policing with the name. What I was referring to was what we merchants in downtown were begging for since I came here in 1985. Please do something about the panhandlers, the public intoxication, the harassment, the pissing & defecation in public & the fear our customers have because of the uncivil behavior. Obviously, this is an epidemic & even worse in other neighborhoods as it has been since any of us can remember. The fact is: Whatever & whoever, they are not fixing the problem. I can only blame the City Admin. & City Council. They are who we are paying, they supposedly work for the taxpayers.
I built a successful business in spite of the negative perceptions, but I was never able to reach the maximum potential because of the perception & the reality. I had to learn the psychology of the customer in order to get them to walk pass the disgusting behavior of individuals who you could almost say are not human. Though, I believe there is good in all, I don’t know the answers to why & how to change the people who are doing illegal & immoral acts. Maybe you all do & I applaud anyone who can take on that.
What I do know is small business, mom & pop & economic development. I closed my business in 2010 to work fulltime on rebuilding Downtown, not because I wanted to, but because I felt I had too. Instead of being able to just be a good businessperson I had to start this process back in 2001 to transform the environment outside my business. The truth of the matter is; there is no reason why I should have had to create an organization, there shouldn’t have to be a West Side Grows or any other non-profit doing this work when it is the responsibility of City, County & State Economic Development, Planning, Public Works, etc. But they aren’t doing it & those of us that are, are now better at it than they ever were. What I have seen over the last decade, having kicked in the door to see the inner workings of our city government was at first shocking, but I don’t think it is a monumental task to reorganize it.
That being said, I strongly believe in a mutually beneficial & open relationship between the city government & the citizens & stakeholders. Now, you can take shots at who I have chosen to support (Dennis Williams) & believe me I get what you are saying (don’t take this out of context), as long as you keep on topic & don’t tear at the person. Except for those of you who are crazy (you won’t know that’s you) we all need to come together with the new Mayor (DPW) (Not BM, KK, RB, SS or KM) & really focus on what we can accomplish immediately, tomorrow, the next day & so on. To me, the best ideas come from the people, the govt. implements, or enables those organizations that are better equipped & we do it.
No, I don’t believe in Santa Claus, I do believe in people & I will never lose sight of the American Dream!
By the way: You are all invited to the 700 block of Market St. on Sept. 7th 2:00 – 3:00 PM for “Tear Down The Walls” when our Main Street Wilmington project starts removing the exterior Security Gates that have a negative psychological impact on anyone coming Downtown at night. The Governor, Mayor, all the politicians will be there. Yeah, I haven’t gone over to the Dark Side, but I am getting better at playing nice in the sandbox.
Comment by Ed Osborne on 21 August 2012 at 10:25 am:
Sad when the empty chair gets all the attention, Truth is last night without Dennis they where all empty seats!
Comment by cassandra_m on 21 August 2012 at 10:49 am:
Sad when the empty chair brought this attention on himself — by running away from a perfectly good group of Wilmington citizens.
I was at the debate that night and two of the candidate’s showed a fear of the empty chair. I was spell bound that a person running for office would address so much of his time focusing on the empty chair. I did hear this candidate change his tax plan for a 15% one and done to a I will raise taxes 15% in my first year in office leaving an open option for the next three. This person also did not believe in term limits when asked about not seeking a third term. This person also siad he would layoff I believe 13 firefighters and 16 police officers if you could not get the funding.
Kiki, do you realize that less the 70% of the crimes in Wilmington are reported in the New Journal!
Zero tolerance come on people are you at the debates???? What I heard was common sense policing. Violent criminals will not be tolerated. One candidate even said that the violent criminals are human beings also. How would you explain that to the mother of a child who was just raped and murdered? “I’m sorry mam, but the person who just killed your child is going to be hugged because he’s a thug.” Come on people wake up crime is like a cancer. So far 3% of the population of Wilmington has controlled all of the debates and this same 3% is killing our city it’s time to stop the cancer!!!